


pink lemonade

by alchemyfeline



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Oh also, POV Third Person Limited, POV Zuko (Avatar), Pre-Relationship, briefly mentioned but zuko has anxiety, hes autistic as well but its not directly mentioned, idk if this is worth noting but the gaang is aged up by a year or so, this is very self indulgent, you know how it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemyfeline/pseuds/alchemyfeline
Summary: usually, he would have gotten the whole group together for an excursion, but everyone else was busy. aang, katara, and suki had promised to have a volleyball match against ty lee, mai, and azula on the beach and toph wanted to help out iroh with the shop. (he had suspected she was lying, but he decided not to say anything about it.) which left just him and sokka. not that he minded.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	pink lemonade

**Author's Note:**

> take this as my apology for not posting in a while, i have six other wips and for most of them i'm planning at least like 2k words, but i've got a couple that r sort of bigger projects so they're taking me longer
> 
> for some reason in my head i associate this fic w watermelon sugar by harry styles vibe wise so . thought that was worth mentioning (pls listen to watermelon sugar it slaps)

Zuko took a step out of the Arby’s, holding a pink lemonade in each of his hands. The joint was off an intersection, one of those places with a few fast food places and significant chain stores clumped together where most of the surrounding land was just a parking lot. Aang tended to go on rants about how much land was wasted in the making of parking lots this big, and while Zuko couldn’t help but agree, he was glad the freshman wasn’t around to do so then; it would have killed his good mood. 

It was hot out. It felt like the sun hit him from every angle at once, and he knew he was probably going to get a sunburn if he stayed out too long, but didn’t really mind. As much as he didn’t enjoy the temperature itself, he liked how the rays of the sun spilled gold onto whatever it touched, made things glow with a spark of life that wasn’t usually there, even in himself. He couldn’t explain how the weather gripped him with such a sense of cheer and liveliness, where he had to be out and doing something, most of the time resulting in him calling his friends and making plans to meet up with them, whether that just be goofing off or doing something like mini-golfing.

He walked through the parking lot to a relatively close medium, where his best friend, Sokka, sat, looking at something on his phone. Usually, he would have gotten the whole group together for an excursion, but everyone else was busy. Aang, Katara, and Suki had promised to have a volleyball match against Ty Lee, Mai, and Azula on the beach and Toph wanted to help out Iroh with the shop. (He had suspected she was lying, but he decided not to say anything about it.) Which left just him and Sokka. Not that he minded.

Zuko took a seat on the curb next to his friend, lightly bumping their shoulders together as a greeting. Sokka looked up at him, giving him a grin as he set his phone screen-down beside him and taking one of the drinks. 

“Thanks, bud,” He said as the other teen sat down beside him.

“Don’t mention it,” Zuko replied, gently kicking at Sokka’s left sneaker with the side of his foot. That was something they did to show affection; it started as Sokka’s way of grounding him when he was getting anxious but had turned into something they did casually. 

Sokka was wearing a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans that were cuffed at the ankles, his favorite light blue sweatshirt tied around his waist, and matching Vans. Zuko, on the other hand, was wearing an MCR t-shirt, ripped black jeans, and a denim jacket. Earlier, Sokka had commented, “Geez, someone cares more about keeping his edgelord status than not getting heatstroke,” and he had wanted to defend himself, but it wasn’t like he was wrong. 

Sokka took a long sip of his lemonade before setting it aside and leaning back on his hands. Zuko mirrored the movement and let himself briefly ponder on how comfortable he was around the other. He reflected on a time last year where the idea of having a friend as close as Sokka would have been ridiculous to him, but now, it just felt natural.

There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes as they worked on their drinks. Eventually, though, Sokka broke it with “How’s working at the shop been this summer?”

Zuko shrugged. “Not any worse than the school year, I guess. I think I’m getting better with customer interaction. I’m not as anxious as I used to be, so that’s an improvement.” “That’s cool. I’m happy for you.” “Yeah.. doesn’t make it any less exhausting, though. I still don’t know how to deal with entitled customers,” He groaned, setting his drink aside before falling back onto the grass, “Like, what the hell am I supposed to do when some lady gets mad at me for not letting her order _coffee_ at a _tea shop_? It should be obvious we don’t have any, but I guess not!”

“Yeah, sometimes customers are just like that,” Sokka replied sympathetically, rolling over onto his side to face him, “Speaking of the shop, I haven’t been over lately. Iroh added any new flavors?”

Zuko nodded, a small smile crossing his face. “Uncle introduced, uh, chocolate and orange tea and vanilla lemon boba, I think.”

“Sounds disgusting, I’d love to try it,” He replied, not breaking eye contact with the other teen. Zuko tried not to focus on how the sunlight lit his dark brown eyes ablaze, or how it cast an amber highlight over his dark skin. Nope, he was not thinking about either of those things, definitely not.

“Mm. Vanilla lemon’s pretty good. But chocolate and orange tea- well. If you order it, be prepared. Oh, and get it during my shift, I’d love to see your reaction.” “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” A smile pulled at his lips, and spirits was that boy pretty when we smiled.

Against his better judgment, he let his eyes flicker down to his lips for just a moment, briefly wondering what would happen if he were to give in to his impulses and kiss him. He didn’t let himself entertain this thought for long, and quickly met his gaze again. Something unreadable flashed through Sokka’s eyes for a moment, but it passed as soon as it came. He just shifted to lie down on his stomach, still looking in his friend’s direction.

“Hold on. Let me just..” He reached his hand out, keeping his movements slow to give Zuko the room to push him away if he wanted. He didn’t, observing cautiously as Sokka’s hand passed over his scar, and he hesitated slightly before using his thumb to brush his hair out of his face. He let his hand drop down a bit, cupping Zuko’s cheek, and with anyone else, the teen would have flinched or stiffened up, but he relaxed into the touch, letting out a gentle hum. His hand was cool, a welcome feeling on his probably to-be sunburned cheek. Absent-mindedly, he made to bump their shoes together, and Sokka let out an amused huff, the corner of his lips turning up into a smile.

“..thanks?” Zuko said, cracking an awkward grin. 

Sokka, finally seeming to notice the tension, pulled his hand back, and sat up. “Sorry. That was weird.” He laughed a little as he picked up his lemonade, which had to have been getting warm by now, and took a long sip, pulling his gaze away from the other and looking off to the distance.

Zuko sat up, scooting a little closer so he was pressed up against his side in a way he hoped was comforting. He didn’t understand physical affection the same way most people seemed to, but around Sokka, it didn’t feel like he needed to. 

“I didn’t mind,” Zuko replied softly. His friend looked back to him, an unmistakable fondness twinkling in his eyes as he murmured, “Good to know.”

There was a minute or two of quiet, bordering on awkward before Zuko suggested, “We should get to the shop. I’m not wearing any sunscreen.” “Yeah, me neither.” “We’ll die of sunburns together, then.” “Sounds good to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> what if we 😳 sat together in the arby's parking lot 🙈🙊 (and we were both boys!) haha jk jk..... unless?


End file.
